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horse shopping - looking for the impossible....

How do I get myself into these things???

I took on a short term training situation. Guy was referred to me (thanks a LOT) who is older gentleman doing Civil War Reenactment.

He had noooooooo riding experience before doing this. He muddled around and bought a big TWH gelding. Got all the tack, joined the cavalry and did three summers of reenactments without killing himself or anyone else. The horse tolerated his absolute beginner rider skill level and also muddled through the reenactments. Then on season three, the horse started to have eye issues in his right eye. Ultimately, he went blind in his right eye and the owner started having issues with the horse at reenactment. eventually, couldn't even get him to load.

Owner shops around and finally buys an 8 year old AQHA gelding from some farm. Horse never even heard a pop gun. Owner takes horse to fourth season full of reenactments totally unprepared and horse of course strongly objects.

Owner finds me. We put month training and eval. on the horse, determine horse is not cut out for reenactment life and we all agree gelding is to be sold.

Owner needs to return to a gaited breed for his next horse. He can't post.

Where in the world do I find a gentle, broke, brave gaited horse big enough to carry a tall man with little to no riding experience through three day reenactments five times a summer?

And no, I'm not kidding.....

On a side note, this qh geldings is a doll, very talented and sweet. He's big, HYPP neg, broke well, desensitized to a LOT but just isn't willing to tolerate this big guy bumbling around on his back while a field full of infantry and artillery are firing black power weapons stuffed with Cream O Wheat at him.

well this is one of those situations that you wont know until the noise test
perhaps a draft cross horse not forward enough for the hunt
the sort that takes a lot of leg to keep them moving
one that considers a check the best part of the day
the type that is inclined to downward transitions
and looks back as if to ask "are you sure" when given a bit of heel.

Is there a cowboy mounted action shooting group in the area - horses will already be gun broke at least?
I took a retired fox hunter mare to mounted shooting, she wasn't concerned about gunfire (I guess the whip crack and also being from a deer hunting area), also used to galloping around in groups in open country, I don't know about the odds of finding gaited but big and sensible should be findable in the hunt horse market.

You could check with the State groups of gaited breeds, Trail Rider's Associations, because you want to START with the gaited horse. Those folks would know who would have horses for sale, might have already trained horses used for following dogs, Field Trial horses, that get shot off of.

Do consider the lesser known gaited breeds used, the Racking Horses, Fox Trotters, Rocky Mountain horses, and so on in your search. Locally, those are pretty common as choices for the older Trail Riders. They are usually pretty steady, often came up from Kentucky, Tennessee, where they WERE used to follow hunting dogs. Kind of like ranch horses, they have WORKED for a living, not excited about over working if they don't have to!

Many are not tall equines, but with their shorter back, they CAN carry large folks with few issues, for a long day or a lot of miles. They are strongly built, solid legs and good feet. They do need a skilled Farrier who won't chop hooves down to fit a "short hooves on all horses" style. They SHOULD have good big feet, longer toe lengths, under them. Tack needs to fit of course.

Good luck with a search. Didn't you write about this guy before, giving him riding lessons? Sounds like a terrible person to deal with in his arrogance. Make him pay well enough to let you enjoy the experience!

Craiglist in KY and Tennessee. Or if you're really ambitious, show up at trail heads of state parks and ask what people have for sale. My friends that trail ride (read- have horse tote them around while they're drinking and having a good time!) all rode Walking or Racking horses... a smooth horse doesn't foam up the beer.

On a side note, this qh geldings is a doll, very talented and sweet. He's big, HYPP neg, broke well, desensitized to a LOT but just isn't willing to tolerate this big guy bumbling around on his back while a field full of infantry and artillery are firing black power weapons stuffed with Cream O Wheat at him.

Awww, I got a huge kick out of your description. He sounds like a great boy.

Check out hunting clubs. Ones such as quail and dove hunting. Some of these use horses so they are use to the gun fire and they have to be sane and put up with beginner riders because many of the people are beginners. They also like to use walking horses because it smoother for newbies and for the hunt. My husbands twh came from one of these places but I believe he was a reject lol. Not a beg horse at all but is fine with gunfire.

Find an active re-enactment group and see if anyone has a horse for sale. Contact any state or national parks that are battlefields, and see if you can get the name of a group leader. I live near Stones River National Battlefield, and there are frequent re-enactments, with horses. Good luck!

Does he intend on riding it outside the 5 times a year? Is someone else going to ride it?

I don't think you can expect any horse to remain indefinitely perfect when being ridden by a rank beginner a couple times a year in extreme circumstances. I would decline the honor of finding this guy a horse if that's what he's asking for. You'll never please him and I always worry that these people could hurt your legitimate business by spreading tales of their "negative experiences," as unavoidable as they inevitably are. A "gosh, I'm looking but I can't seem to find anything suitable -- maybe X can help you, she may be able to find something closer to what you are looking for" is a polite way of punting the problem. In fact, it sounds like that's how you got him in the first place.